


Spider Shorts

by Wardove



Series: Spider Stories [4]
Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-12 03:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18438161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wardove/pseuds/Wardove
Summary: All the little story bits that weren't big enough for their own works, but still demanded to be written.  They all follow "Another Spider", and are roughly chronological (unless specified otherwise)(Originally Spider Scraps 1, but now I'm putting all the Spider-scraps here so it's multi-chaptered now!)





	1. Spider Scraps 1

I. 

The first time he crosses paths with Spider-Peter again after the thing with Miles, the man's together with the black-and-white-and-pink one that was probably Spider-Woman. It sounds like they're arguing about taste in music, and Jeff tunes them out and goes about arresting the mugger they'd strung up to the wall. 

Or at least, he tries to ignore them until Peter _literally drops down less than 2 feet away_ and asks his opinion on it. Jeff glares, but the other man doesn't so much as twitch. 

Spider-Woman drops down as well and quickly apologizes, trying to drag her companion away, but the taller spider-person (probably older too- how many of these Spiders were _kids_ seriously she’s barely taller than Miles!) doesn't even budge. 

Jeff gives up and asks him to repeat the question. 

 

 

II.

He's driving around, doing the usual patrol when a lightpost gets knocked down by a strange multi-legged man with a scorpion tail crashing into it. The pole (and person) barely miss the hood of Jeff's car as he slams on the breaks. He calls it in on his radio, but Spider-man _(Miles son what are you doing?!)_ is already on the scene, flicking in and out of sight and bouncing off the walls with a smooth grace. 

It was terrifying watching him in action when Jeff knew it was a kid under the mask. Now that he knows it's _his_ kid, it's worse. He busies himself with getting civilians and rubberneckers out of the danger area, and not biting his nails watching his kid taking on a guy three times his size with a stabby tail. 

Miles takes a few nasty hits and Jeff resists the urge to yell and run after his kid. Eventually though, Scorpion is thoroughly electrocuted and then webbed to a wall, and the crowd is cheering. 

Miles- no, he's Spider-man right now, can't get that mixed up- Spider-man is perched on a fire hydrant catching his breath. His suit is torn in a few places, and while it's mostly dirt soiling the suit, it's not _all_ dirt. 

"You need to get those checked out." Jeff immediately says, eyeing a particularly nasty cut on his kid's arm with acid roiling in his gut. Miles- Spider-man- shrugs and points a thumb at his chest. 

"Accelerated healing factor." He chirps- dipping down into that fake-deep voice halfway through the sentence. "Get me some food and rest and it'll be gone in the morning!"

Jeff scowled. "Get it looked at anyway. You have someone you trust to patch you up when you take hits like this, right?" 

Miles faffs a bit, but eventually he nods, and promises to go visit 'her' (not Spider-Peter then) to get it cleaned out properly. Jeff nods and steps back as Miles sends him a cheeky salute and then twists around and leaps up on top of a nearby car's roof, using it as a springboard to get up in the air before he swings off. 

Jeff loses any chance of dropping the nickname "Spider-Whisperer" in the precinct that day. There is also now a betting pool on when he's going to go looking for adoption papers for the little Spider-man. Miles chokes on a meatball over dinner that night as he's telling this to Rio. Jeff considers it a petty revenge victory for scaring him earlier, not that he says that out loud.

 

 

III.

Miles stops by the house in the middle of the week and goes tearing through his room, looking for a missing report that was apparently due the next day. He's in such a frazzled rush he doesn't notice Jeff standing in the doorway as he lifts his bed with one hand to check underneath, muttering under his breath all the while. 

It's not there of course. Peter B had shown up in the kitchen window at an ungodly hour that morning and nearly gotten a face-full of scalding coffee for it. Apparently "the kids" had had similar reports to do, and they'd been working on them together while Peter and his ex-slash-kinda-girlfriend-again fed them pizza, and Miles had left his report in the wrong dimension. 

Jeff wasn't sure if he was relieved or horrified that it only took a few seconds for him to nod and simply... accept that. Like having a study-date with other vigilantes and then leaving your homework in an alternate dimension was _normal_. This was his life now apparently. 

No, instead he accepted the sheaf of papers from Peter and invited him in for coffee. Rio had come downstairs around that time (thankfully after Peter had gotten off the counter however). Peter had introduced himself "Peter B, call me B- or janky hobo man, if Miles says janky hobo man he means me" and Rio had quirked an eyebrow but accepted it and made extra eggs and bacon. 

("Don't worry about the appetite," Peter says as he wolfs down a sixth egg while Jeff and Rio look on in mixed wonder and horror, "we've all got it. He's probably got it worst since he's still growing though. Just like, that's not a temporary thing, fyi your food budget's gonna take a hit.")

 

 

IV.

Jeff is out grocery shopping with Rio when people start yelling at their phones by the masses. He listens, and then almost tackles one of them in order to see the phone in the stranger's hand. The man doesn't even flinch, just holds it up, as many people are gathering together like this to see. 

There's a news-crew live-streaming in the middle of a spider-fight. Spider-man's not using his webs- in fact he's not using one of his arms at all- it's curled tightly against his chest, and he pauses in his running and jumping to web it to his chest. He finishes that just in time to be rammed through a brick wall by his massive grey-skinned opponent. The wall collapses around him and the man holding the phone almost drops it in shock. His hand is trembling, and one of the others (there's about 5 people around this one man's phone) reaches out to steady his wrist. 

Two of the other spider-people appear, driving the enemy away, but the camera remains on the rubble. Waiting. Jeff can't breathe. He feels Rio grabbing tightly onto his elbow. Her hands are trembling. 

The reporters try to get closer, but they're forced away when the battle gets pushed towards them again. Jeff can't watch the phone anymore- he pulls away from the group and starts down the sidewalk, Rio close by his side. Around them, people are beginning to murmur. Have they just lost another Spider-man? So soon?

"Jeff, mi amor..." Rio whispers softly as she glances at the huddled masses, and he nods mutely, hearing the fear in her voice. She'd been more confident about Miles' ability to handle himself than he had, but that video, the whispers... 

.

It's almost 20 minutes before they arrive where the battle had taken place. Rhino was gone, already taken into custody, as were the spider-people. Police had cordoned off the area, but Maria was there, and she whispered something to one of the other cops, who lifted the yellow tape and allowed him in, leaving Rio twisting her hands anxiously behind the cordon. Maria walked with him as Jeff made a beeline for the rubble. 

"We did a bit of digging, but it doesn't look like he's in there anymore." She was saying. "I'm not sure how sturdy those spiders are- he was definitely hurting before he hit the wall, but we know Parker took worse hits and walked away." 

_'Parker was a grown adult.'_ Jeff wanted to growl, but he bit his tongue and kept it in, stepping carefully across the rubble, both hoping and dreading finding something, anything. There was nothing but bricks and mortar however. As he returns to his wife's side, Maria puts a hand on his shoulder. 

"I know you're off-duty, but we'll update you the moment we find anything." Jeff could only nod his thanks as he ducked underneath the cordon once more and quickly pulled Rio into a hug. 

.

He calls Miles' phone. No answer. 

He waits two minutes, and then calls it again. Still no answer. Groceries forgotten, he and Rio start making their way home, calling Miles' phone periodically in a desperate hope of getting a response. 

Jeff almost sobs when they round the corner and he spots a tall lanky figure leaning against their front door. Peter B spots them almost immediately and jumps down the entire staircase, and they hurry to meet him. 

"He's okay." Is the first thing out of his mouth, and Rio curses softly as she sags with relief. 

"He's hurt." Is all Jeff can get out- he's relieved, but...

"He will be okay." Peter corrects, wincing slightly. "Spider-healing, and all that. The others have him pinned down in bed at Aunt May’s- he's not going anywhere for the next few days. Gwen’s already threatened to web him down if he tries. Probably needs to be called out sick from school- he'd try to go otherwise and he should really just sleep it off. I saw his phone going off in his bag and..." 

"Thank you." Jeff growls. He sounds angry, he knows he does, but he really is thankful. If they'd had to wait, without any news...

Peter scratches the back of his head, glancing around the street. "It's not... most of us aren't used to having others who know about us, otherwise I'd've come to tell you sooner." He pauses awkwardly again before taking a large step back. "Anyway, I gotta get back and make sure no-one else is injured and not telling. Also I've got a Spiderling to chew out once he wakes up for ignoring me when I said wait for backup." And he turns and vanishes into an alleyway that Jeff knows would be a dead-end for anyone that couldn't throw webs and climb sheer walls. 

.

Three days later Miles comes home for the weekend, still moving a little tenderly. He complains about catching the flu, and Jeff and Rio hug him within an inch of his life. 

.

A full week later Spider-man makes a reappearance, loudly apologizing for making New York worry. Jeff catches him and hugs him within an inch of his life (again). 

Approximately two minutes later the video of a PDNY cop hugging a tiny squirming Spider-man goes viral and someone in the precinct slips out the nickname Spider-Whisperer and now the entire population of New York seems familiar with Jeff and fondly calls him Spider-Cop. 

 

 

 

V. 

"Hey dad?"

They're in the living room, Rio's working late, and there's take-out scattered across the coffee table. Jeff looks over to where Miles is sitting on the floor, back against the sofa and a dumpling pinched in his fingers. He's staring at it intently, eyes squinted and mouth twisted in a slight grimace. 

"Yeah Miles? What's up bud?" 

A deep breath. 

"There's uh. I gotta tell you a, a thing." 

Here it is. Jeff considers muting the TV, showing Miles he has his full attention, but Miles already looks afraid, so he pretends he doesn't know what's coming- he hums slightly instead to encourage Miles to continue, turning his eyes back to the food. 

"I'm actually... I've been meaning to say this for a while, uh. I'm- _I'mthenewspiderman._ "

And then he jumps to his feet, runs to the window, and turns invisible as he jumps out. Jeff has an eggroll halfway to his mouth, and can only stare. 

That... could have gone better? 

.

It's almost midnight four hours later when the doorbell rings and Miles is there on the doorstep looking vaguely terrified. Parts of him keep turning invisible, and Jeff figures the only reason he hasn't bolted again is because Peter B is there too and he's got a hand around the back of Miles' neck and looks both exhausted and exasperated. 

"Give me a bit of warning before you jump out the window next time, okay? And text me so I know where you're going and I don't have to worry _quite_ as much." Jeff says as greeting. Peter snickers and lightly shoves Miles towards the doorway, turning on his heel and booking it down the stairs. 

Jeff offers to share the leftover takeout, and Peter says no thanks he has a date. Miles whistles teasingly before abruptly looking back at his dad in terror again. Peter turns and sticks his tongue out. Jeff sighs and runs a hand over his head. 

“We are going to have a nice long talk about how and when and why, and you’re not going to leave anything out, and then we’re going to set some ground rules. Ground rules being, right now you’re grounded.” 

Miles groaned, but stopped flickering, and further down the street Peter laughed. 

 

 

VI. 

The only reason he doesn't turn around and leave when he finds a crowd of people in his living room is because Peter B has already caught his eye with a wicked grin, raising his cup of coffee in one hand in greeting while his camera is in the other hand and still pointed at the two teens wrestling in the middle of the floor. 

There's a twist and a yelp and suddenly Miles is on the ceiling with his opponent's ankle- a girl with short blonde hair- caught in one hand, the other hand sticking to the ceiling along with his feet. The girl is trying to kick Miles, but he lets go of the ceiling and reaches downto catch her other ankle, cackling in victory. There's a black-haired girl even younger than Miles on the couch cheering the girl on while eating colorful candy like popcorn. A monochrome young man with oddly grey skin is on the sofa next to her, staring down intently at a bright purple can of spray paint. Next to him is an honest-to-god pig person. Jeff tries not to think on that one too hard, and just accept it. 

Jeff can see the exact moment Miles sees his father in the doorway, because he yelps and falls off the ceiling. He nearly lands on the blonde girl but she does some kind of twist with her hips and he's flung towards Peter B, who swears and drops his phone and coffee to catch Miles. 

"What a meme!" The pig-person laughs. His arm did... something biologically and physically impossible to stretch and catch Peter's coffee, and he's now chugging it loudly. Peter caught Miles upside-down, and the kid looks more than a little flustered as he meets Jeff's eyes. 

"Uh, hi dad. Wanted you to meet my friends?" 

Jeff sighs. "Don't leave webs in the house, it's a pain when it gets into fabrics." He says as way of greeting. The blonde's still on the ground, staring at him like he's an alien. 

"You've got the coolest dad Miles." The smaller girl breathes out, staring at Jeff with... are there actual sparkles in her eyes? What? 

"I'll get you a can of dissolvent." B offers while Miles starts trying to squirm out of his grasp. "Don't share it obviously- last thing we need is someone reverse-engineering it _again_." 

Jeff nods in thanks, and asks if any of them are staying over for dinner, because if they are he's going to need to go shopping again. He's seen Peter's and Miles' appetites in action, and that times _six_ is just too much. 

Still upside down in Peter’s arms, Miles is _beaming_.


	2. Spider Scraps 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff gets to know the spider-fam better, and he meets a few other spiders too. Peter makes himself a nuisance at the precinct but he has food so it's forgiven (mostly). And the extended spider-fam is taught that there are consequences to having non-spiders in the family, and they don't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was going to be posted as another separate story in the series, but then I realized that the Spider Scraps, by their very nature, were made to be piled together like this, so from now on whenever I get a bunch of scraps together they'll go into a chapter here. 
> 
> Probably won't be very often, but sometimes they all come out of nowhere and hit me at once (usually when I'm at work, because diurnal or nocturnal apparently 3am is the best time to have story ideas).

VII. 

Miles' nightmares never stopped. The only difference is that now he confides fully in Jeff and Rio when he shows up in their bedroom doorway at ungodly hours of the night. It's not every night, it's not even a weekly thing, but it still happens. He still dreams of Peter Parker's death. He still dreams of Aaron's. He dreams of his own close brush with death at the fists of Wilson Fisk (and, one truly dark night, he tells Jeff he sometimes dreams of fleeing the Prowler in the darkness of the subway tunnels, but Aaron is there and he takes Prowler's hit for Miles). 

And, after a while, Jeff finds himself trying to reassure Miles by sharing his own nightmares. Trying to communicate that it's okay that he has those nightmares, because Jeff is having them too. He dreams of what he saw in the collider. He dreams of entering that alleyway to find two bodies, not just one. He dreams of being on patrol and hearing a shot, and seeing a little webslinging figure fall to the pavement, unmoving. (He doesn't tell Miles about the last one, but he has a feeling his son somehow already knows. He's probably had the same nightmare, if Jeff is honest with himself.)

One night they have ice cream together at 2 in the morning (Rio grumbles about making themselves sick eating at that hour and goes back to sleep), and Jeff's exhausted and he cracks a joke about finding a super-hero therapist. Miles gives an awkward laugh and tells him Peter B.'s already looking around the multi-verse for someone. Apparently Peter's decided that the littler spiders shouldn't be following _that_ closely in his footsteps and should definitely be talking things out with a professional so they don't end up like him and all his less-than-stellar coping mechanisms. Miles is offended on Peter's behalf, but Jeff cautiously asks to be kept in the loop about that. 

 

 

VIII.

It becomes a common sight to find a Spider-person hanging out in the living room- sometimes reading a book, sometimes watching TV, and sometimes just laying bonelessly on the sofa or floor- and Jeff gets to know each of them in turn. 

Peter B is over the most, fussing over Miles or chowing down on take-out from restaurants that have apparently been closed for years in his own dimension. He's been Spider-man for the longest out of all of them, and it shows in the lazy, casual way he goes about his vigilantism. He's also apparently trying to get back together with his ex-wife, which is a relationship both Miles and Gwen seem to delight in ribbing him and supporting him over in equal turns. 

Gwen is in fact several months older than Miles, but not by that much. She's nervous and wary around Jeff the first few times they meet without Miles there as a buffer, but eventually Rio gets her to admit that her own dad is her dimension's chief of police, and Jeff's own acceptance of Miles has gotten her to wondering how her own father would react to the truth. Jeff hopes she tells, but Rio tells her to go at her own pace and do what feels right, and no matter what she'll have a place to stay here if she needs it, and then she hugs the girl. Gwen's more comfortable with visiting them after that. 

Peni also likes to visit a lot- she's the one Peter mentioned as being from insanely far in the future. She enjoys watching "old classic movies" with the others, and fiddling with computers, and going to the zoo and the aquarium and museums (apparently seeing 'high-tech advancements' is hilarious entertainment). She's also like 12, and both Jeff and Rio fuss over her constantly. (She admits to them one night, while Miles is out on patrol and it's just the three of them for a rare night, that both her parents are dead, but now she's got B and Noir and Ham and now Rio and Jeff and she loves having so many parents. Miles comes home a few hours later to find them all curled up on the sofa sleeping in a tight hug. He lays on top of all of them like the gangly teenager he is, and it's a lovely night.) 

Noir is apparently from the 1930's, and has both a powerful hatred of Nazis and an alarming collection of knives tucked away in his coat (which is always billowing for some reason, even inside buildings. Miles said the wind follows him, but Jeff can't feel the wind. Alternate realities are weird). He's somewhat standoffish at first, Jeff thinks, but he dotes on Peni, and he has a fascination with everything color that Miles delights in teaching him. Jeff is somewhat annoyed when Miles takes him on a tour of Brooklyn and spends the entire time pointing out bits of graffiti everywhere and discussing the style of it, but he gives up on being annoyed when he sees how delighted the other teen is to see the whorls and loops of vibrant colors. (He's also shocked to learn Noir is only 19. He's not sure how old Ham is, but that means B is basically the only adult, and that's also very terrifying. Why, why are all of the spiders _children?!_ )

Ham rarely ever visits unless either Noir is there, or the entire spider-gang is. Jeff is secretly glad for that because he still has no idea how to handle the anthropomorphic spider-pig who casually breaks every law of physics and logic. He complains about it to Miles exactly one time, and Miles laughs and reaches behind his back, pulling out an enormous cartoonish hammer. It looks massive and heavy, but Miles twirls it with his wrist like it's weightless. He tucks it behind his back again, then turns around to show Jeff. No hammer. Jeff stops questioning the spider-pig-man. 

 

 

IX.

Sometimes there's unfamiliar faces in the house too. The first time he comes home to find an actual complete stranger on his sofa, he has to stop and blink a few times. It looks... almost? Like Peter? But much younger (younger than the blonde Peter even, but older than Miles definitely- this one looks like he's 17 or 19 or something). The kid's also got a split lip and an ice-pack pressed against the side of his face, and he freezes when he spots Jeff in the entryway. 

Jeff can't even bring himself to be surprised when he realizes the kid's got on a spider-suit. They stare at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Jeff gives up and breaks the silence, scratching the back of his head absently as he speaks. 

"Let me know if you're staying for dinner so I know how much to cook." He offers, and the maybe-Peter nods slowly, and Jeff returns to the process of kicking off his boots and hanging up his coat. 

(It is in fact another Peter, he learns later. According to B they're apparently the most common spider-people across the multi-verse, though no-one's quite sure why. And he does stay for dinner- polite and tense and awkward right up until Miles is distracted and his hand gets stuck to his glass and he accidentally pours water on his steak and the teen Peter snorts so hard water goes out his nose.)

 

 

IX.

One particularly memorable time he comes home to find Miles on the sofa. It's a weekday, but Miles visits a lot more now so that's not too unusual. Jeff nods hello, and makes a mental note to send Rio a text about possibly needing more food for dinner (Peter had been right, now that he wasn't hiding his spider-metabolism, Miles ate an _insane_ amount of food). Miles doesn't respond to the greeting though, he just... stares at Jeff oddly. 

Jeff glances around the living room, but there's no other spiders around, so he joins Miles on the couch and rests a hand on his shoulder. Miles suddenly looks terrified. 

"Everything okay?" He asks worriedly because Miles hasn't looked this panicked since that time last month when he was fiddling with one of the web fluid canisters in the kitchen and tried to hold in a sneeze, accidentally electrocuting the can when he did lose the battle with the sneeze and leaving a mess of webbing covering absolutely _everything_.

Miles nods very slowly without blinking his too-wide eyes, and Jeff finally realizes that he's got his spider-suit on under his jacket and the mask is on the cushion in between them. He's about to ask if Miles or one of the others is hurt when he hears his son's voice... from the hallway. 

"Alright, the goober is all charged up and working again! You ready to swing man?" And then Miles walks into the living room, eyes focused on the inter-dimensional watch thing that he's fiddling with. The Miles on the sofa with Jeff yelps and turns invisible, but Jeff's still got a hand on his shoulder so he doesn't get very far. It does catch Miles' attention however, and he looks up at his dad with surprise. They stare at each other for a second before Jeff sighs and releases the invisible Miles' shoulder. The sofa shifts slightly as he flees and Jeff leans back and stretches. 

"You both staying for the night or are you bringing him home now?"

Miles glances over at an empty corner of the living room and then shrugs. 

"Probably not- Goober's already calibrated and everything. I'll be back in time for dinner though." 

"Alright- be careful, love you." 

"Will do, love you too." He turns and heads towards the door. Other Miles flickers back into sight, looking between Miles and Jeff with open-mouthed shock before running after his- himself? Whisper-shouting _'dude!'_ all the way out the door. They both disappear outside, and Jeff drops his head back and stares up at the ceiling. 

Now he really had seen everything. 

(The two Miles-es return an hour later and the nervous one is flickering in and out of sight and Jeff grins and hands him the forgotten mask he'd left on the sofa. Miles- Jeff's Miles- _his dimension's Miles_ \- is leaning on the door-frame snickering, and the visiting Miles scowls and punches him in the shoulder as the pair leave again.) 

 

 

X.

Jeff is trying to slog through some paperwork and mourning the leftover dinner he'd forgotten on the kitchen counter that morning. It was well past lunch and he was _hungry_. He'd be more tempted to just go down the street to pick something up if he didn't have a massive amount of backlogged reports to get through. If he didn't leave his desk at all for the entire day, there was a chance he'd be able to get it all done and not have to fuss with it tomorrow. Maybe. If he was efficient. If he didn't leave the office to find food. 

Jeb approaches his desk, and Jeff looks up to find him grinning suspiciously. Maria and Ellie are standing by the entrance to the bullpen, and they're making faces at each other as they peer around the door-frame to the waiting area, whispering aggressively to each other. 

"You've got a visitor looking for you." Jeb says, and his smile is steady but Jeff has worked with the other man long enough to hear that he's about five seconds away from breaking out in laughter. Jeff glances back at his current report, but he really is glad for a small reprieve now that it's been offered so he saves the document and locks the computer, stretching his back as he stands and follows Jeb out into the mostly-deserted waiting room. 

Peter B Parker is sitting cross-legged at a knee-high table showing a little kid some kind of trick with knotted ropes. The girl is clapping excitedly, and her mother is several chairs away, writing on a clipboard with a slight quirk of a smile on her face as she glances over at the pair. It wouldn't look at all strange if it wasn't for the fact that Peter was in his full Spider-man suit and had sweatpants and an overstuffed fluffy jacket over it. 

"Are those _my_ sweats?" Jeff demands before he can think better of it, but he already knows, he recognizes the faint patterning, _those are his pajamas Peter what are you doing?_

Spider-man looks down and laughs, twisting sideways and somehow leaping to his feet with that strange grace that Jeff has come to realize all the spiders share. 

"Heh, yeah. It's really cold in your city you know? Like, it's still fall there shouldn't be snow already. I didn't bring my winter suit so I just swung by your place and raided your closet." Peter has the gall to stick his hands in the pants pockets and shrug casually, tilting his head towards a familiar bag sitting on a chair next to where he'd been sitting on the floor. "Anyway, saw that on the counter and figured I'd drop it off along with some carjackers I picked up earlier. Uh, also there were some extra leftovers in the fridge so I just kinda ate those 'cause I was hungry too and that smelled really good when I took a peek." 

With that, he drops the knotted rope (which is tangled up and looks somewhat like a bird) into the child's hands and walks confidently to the window nearby, popping it open and getting one leg out before Jeff mentally shakes himself. 

"At least use the door!" He scolds loudly. Then, quieter. "You gotta be a good role model- don't be teaching kids to jump out of windows." Even under the mask, Peter's got a clearly sheepish expression on as he pulls his leg back inside and closes the window. 

"Don't jump out windows unless you've got awesome spidey powers." He says to the girl as he passes her again on the way to the door. She giggles and nods, and Spider-man gives Jeff the thumbs up. 

"I want those clothes washed and back in the closet by next week- don't just leave them on the floor and forget again!" Jeff yells as the vigilante in the stolen clothing slips out the door. Jeff sighs and retrieves his lunch, and turns back just in time to see Ellie punch Maria's shoulder as she hands over a fist of crumpled money. 

He wants to be annoyed, but honestly he's too excited about having Rio's cooking for lunch to be cranky about the teasing he's invariably going to get from his coworkers. His biggest worry is if the captain is going to point out that Spider-man has admitted to not only knowing where Jeff lives, but is familiar enough with the man to be stealing his clothes and bringing him lunch. 

The captain only grins however when they pass each other in the little kitchenette, and makes a comment on how he'd probably snipe some of the leftovers too since it smells so good. 

 

 

XI. 

Even though he was somewhat expecting it, the first time villains think to go after Officer Davis to hurt Spider-man, Jeff is completely taken by surprise. He's used to being a regular cop, no different from the others on the force. Even having all the various spiders dropping by the precinct to say hello only ever earned him gentle ribbing from his coworkers (and grumbling about losing bets, but he studiously ignored those). 

So now he finds himself beaten and bloody and wrapped up in steel cables on the floor of a warehouse. There were 6 thugs visible when he was being nabbed, but inside the warehouse Jeff can see at minimum 15 shadows- there's probably even more in the corners. The intent is clear- this is a trap. Jeff is being used as bait so these men can kill his kids. And he _hates_ it. 

The first sign that something has gone wrong with the gang's plan is when someone knocks on the warehouse door. It's a familiar staccato that he can't name- knock knock knock-knock knock... 

And then a-a red wagon with _rockets duct-taped onto the sides_ crashes through the door and spins up into the air, trailing comical plumes of smoke as it crashes into the ceiling and rains gears and springs. Three guesses who sent that in. 

Every spider is there, and they are _angry_ , they are beyond angry they are _furious_. Peni and SP//DR are tearing holes in the walls and destroying the cover of darkness, hurling the pieces at any who get too close. Ham has a baseball bat and he's batting thugs towards the rear wall while calling out scores. Noir's pulled out his gun and is taking out knees left right and center. On the other side of the warehouse Gwen is a spinning whirl of furious grace- her feet swinging up to catch jaws and necks, with the occasional stomach and groin shot to anyone foolish enough to leave her an opening. Any who escape Spider-Woman's range are webbed by Peter, who throws them roughly to the ceiling where they stick helplessly. 

And Miles is next to Jeff, carefully prying at the twisted cables that are making it hard for him to breathe. The moment Jeff is free, Miles wraps him in half a hug, and without any warning there's a lurch and they're _flying_ , they're sailing up towards a small opening in the ceiling and then they're _out_ and arcing back to the roof but Miles is already sending out another web, keeping his arcs smaller and gentler than Jeff's seen him go alone, and Jeff appreciates it because his whole body aches but his ribs are screaming still. 

Jeff insists on stopping at the precinct first however. He knows the spiders, they're family, and he knows they're angry. They're not going to call the police, so it's up to him. Miles complains but changes direction. 

The office is in chaos when they take the stairs down from the roof. Everyone's in such a flurry to find Jeff that it takes almost a minute for someone to notice the small vigilante and missing cop in their midst. He relays the approximate location of the warehouse from what he could see during the escape, and Miles grudgingly gives the full address. An ambulance is called, and Jeff worries that they're going to try and keep Miles out of the ambulance, but thankfully the paramedics take one look at the little Spider-man's defensive posture, and one of them gestures to a seat next to him, which Miles immediately claims. 

An hour later the other five spiders crawl in through the window in Jeff's hospital room, startling a nurse into screaming and triggering a commotion out in the hall. Two doctors and several security guards appear, and chaos reigns shortly. 

"They're family!" Jeff finally yelled as loud as he could, cranky about being ignored in his own hospital room. When one doctor continued to argue about 'immediate family only' Jeff gave the man his best angry-cop glare and pointed a finger at the gathered vigilantes. 

"If you want to remove them forcibly then by all means, _try_. I've had a long day, my family is here and safe-" Rio wasn't but Rio hadn't been in a warehouse completely outnumbered by thugs with guns so he wasn't as worried for her safety as the others- "and I'm sore and exhausted so I'm going to sleep." 

When he wakes several hours later they are all still there, and Rio has joined the small crowd. He's still sore, but he's safe, and his family is all safe, and he's content (as content as he can be, hopped up on painkillers stuck in bed with two fractured ribs at least). 

 

 

XII.

After the kidnapping incident the spiders hovered constantly- the first few days he couldn't go a work-shift without at least one of them hanging like an ominous pendulum nearby. 

After the third day he opened the precinct window and invited Spider-Woman to come inside at least and sit down. Gwen was a little leery of actually sitting in a room full of cops while in her spider guise, but she did as Jeff asked and sat next to his desk while he filed reports. He was still tender from the beating he'd taken, so he gave her papers and asked her if she'd mind running them to other officers and departments. And he did the same when Noir was watching him the next day, and Peter the day after that. (Peni wouldn't come in because SP//DR couldn't fit inside the building, but it was pretty funny watching the other cops trying to wrap their minds around Spider-Ham's wonky physics when he stopped by).

Miles was the only one who didn't lurk outside Jeff's office. He returned to their house every night instead of staying at Visions, but it was always well after sunset when he appeared. Jeff would've thought he was going out on patrols but Spider-Man (or Spider-Kid as some were starting to call him, much to Miles' chagrin) had seemingly vanished- leaving his usual patrol routes to his fellows. 

It was almost 3 weeks later that Miles' strange behavior ended with him walking into the living room with a large box in his arms, followed by May Parker and his roommate Ganke Lee (the other teen also bearing a box of unknown gizmos). 

A modified inter-dimensional goober that would open a portal directly to one of the other spiders when activated (apparently it defaulted to Peter B, but he could manually set it to another of them if needed). A modified web slinger that shot out globs instead of threads which would allow him to incapacitate criminals, that also shot taser-cables, tranquilizers, and mini tear gas bombs. And dense-weave under-armor that mimicked the spider-suits in form and breathability that would minimize impact damage and give some extra protection against being stabbed. Jeff wasn't sure if he should be impressed or concerned- apparently the two teens had gotten May's help going through old Peter's stash of gadgets, and then they'd gone and built their own models (though the goober-thing was made by Peni and someone called Miguel apparently). 

Jeff didn't want to take the items at first. He tried to tell them, he's a cop, and cops don't use stuff like this. 

May told him sternly he's not just a cop anymore. He's made it clear- the Spider-family count him as their own, and he them. Villains would ignore Officer Davis- but they won't ignore the Spider-Cop. Her arms were crossed and she scowled, and Miles was scuffing the carpet and looking scared, and Rio was on the sofa leaning on him, a warm reassuring presence. 

Because they were right. He couldn't pretend he was an average cop anymore. If he didn't want Miles and the other kids rushing into warehouses severely outnumbered like that again, he'd have to make sure he couldn't ever be used as bait again. He sighed, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Miles perk up slightly. 

"...Show me how these work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when Spider Stories will get updated again (I'm trying to figure out if the next batch of scraps that have been plaguing me are cohesive enough to be their own story or not), so I'll be leaving this unfinished from now on. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!


	3. Spider Scraps 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's take on life so far. Bringing MJ flowers, hugging the little spiderlings he thought he'd never see again, and learning to regret all the times he was an idiot growing up, because WOW being on the other side sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was on the bus to the Boston Anime Con, and Peter randomly decided he wanted to tell me his opinions on his life so far, but mostly meeting Jefferson the first few times. I wrote so much at the con and like a lot of it is scrap since I'd go like 3 paragraphs and then change my mind about something BUT! This exists now, so, uh... 
> 
> YEET!

XIII.

Peter B. Parker was scared of having children. He was scared of some villain or thug finding them, and he trusted MJ to keep herself safe- she _had_ kept herself safe- but little ones couldn't do that, they were _little_. They'd be targeted, and hurt, and maybe even killed, and it would be Peter's fault for bringing them into his chaotic life with none of their own say. 

Then he met Miles, and Gwen, and his heart swelled with something that took him a while to name. It took being in the swirling chaos of a super collider for him to find the words. _"I love you, and I'm so proud of you!"_

Was that what it meant to be a parent? Being terrified, but loving and supporting and trusting your kid anyway? He went back to his own dimension, cleaned himself up (spending a week on the streets interspersed with crime-fighting shenanigans was not good for body odor) and then got himself to MJ's front door. 

He'd thought of so many ways to start the conversation, but when he found himself standing here with flowers, all he could think of was the pride he'd felt, watching Miles use his powers with confidence, as the kid turned Peter's own words on him. 

So when MJ _does_ open the door, the only thing Peter can do is hold up the flowers with tears in his eyes because _damn loving people hurts_ and say "I fell through a portal and met a spider-kid."

MJ quirks an eyebrow, but she invites him in for coffee. It's a start. 

 

 

XIV.

Peni shows up in his dimension with a rebuilt SP//DR and Peter thinks it's a cruel attack on his mind from some new enemy, right up until the kid jumps out of the robot and tackles him in a hug and he realizes the prickle in his spider-sense isn't warning of _danger_ at all. He's a little baffled, but he finds himself automatically kneeling down and hugging her back, and damn it really _is_ Peni- complete with tiny telepathic spider hanging out on her shoulder and waving one tiny leg at him. He wiggles a finger back in greeting and both child and arachnid beam. (He thinks the spider beams. It doesn't really have a facial-expressions kinda face, but he figures if Peni's smile is that big, the little bug is probably smiling too. On the inside. Anyway.)

She tells him about another spider-person in the future that she's been working with to make inter-dimensional goobers that will let them visit each other safely. She gives him something that looks like one of those new smart-watch-things, and teaches him how to use it. 

The first place he visits is Miles's dimension, of course. 

.

It's nice, hanging out with the kid without the worry of death via complete cellular degradation or whatever looming over him. Just like when Peni visited him, the first thing he does is hug the kid. Miles yelps and electrocutes him again, and when he wakes up he's on Aunt May's sofa and Miles is pacing and fretting about the multiverse. May is in an armchair watching him with tolerant amusement as she sips from a massive mug of coffee. 

After he sorts out the whole 'the multiverse isn't going to collapse this is actually stable' thing, it goes much smoother. They hang out and chat, and Gwen shows up in the middle of it with Peni, bearing a goober for Miles too. (He gets an odd satisfaction watching someone else be on the receiving end of a spider-hug for once, especially since he was knocked unconscious when he did it to Miles.)

 

 

XV.

After a few weeks they come to the realization that being in other dimensions doesn't _hurt_ , but it does _itch_ a bit for every dimension that isn't their own or Miles's. The distinction is strange, and Miguel's AI-person tries to explain it, but the rest of the spiders mostly brush it off. It does result in more of them than normal hanging around in Miles's dimension, but his New York seems to get used to it pretty quickly. New York is adaptable like that. 

(In fact, they seem delighted by it. It's a little freaky, the first time Peter hears Jameson's voice on the radio- he's not calling the new spider-man a menace, he's just ranting about the kid's parents and what reckless stunt has this punk pulled today. Then he realizes that Jameson had to find out that Peter Parker had been behind the old 'menace' after a grisly murder and he stops questioning it. New York may have loved and hated their old spider in equal measures, but they want to protect this new one, this little one that's going so far for their approval and is so much smaller than the first.)

It's a little difficult, balancing his civilian job, being Spider-man in his own city, trying to win back MJ, and helping Miles figure out how to vigilante safely, but Peter's happier than he can remember being in a long time. 

School exams aren't something Peter misses (like, at all), but Miles complains of them one visit while looking exhausted and Peter offers to cover some of his patrols so the kid can study and sleep. They meet on a roof at the crack of dawn after the patrol, and Miles falls asleep again, so Peter carries him back to school. Thankfully most of the passerby he meets on the street just accept his excuse for why a vigilante's carrying a random school-kid home, right up until his spider-sense tingles softly. It's not a scream of danger, nor the gentle, semi-familiar prickle of another spider-person. It's just a soft nudge, and then there's red and blue lights and a cop's pulling up next to him. 

So he meets Miles's dad for the first time, in possibly the most awkward way possible. He's also pretty sure he somehow accidentally gave away Miles's secret, but the cop doesn't say anything, and the next time they meet Miles doesn't say anything about his dad calling him out either, so Peter figures it'll work itself out. 

 

 

XVI.

He probably should avoid interacting with Jefferson Davis, but when the man shows up while he and Gwen are discussing tastes in music after stopping a mugging, he can't help but reach out and try to get the other man in on the conversation. He gets glared at (and he's pretty sure Gwen thinks he's lost a few more marbles), but he's been glared at by worse, and eventually Jefferson does start talking, so Peter counts it as a win. 

And when Miles leaves an essay in MJ's apartment Peter brings it to the kid's house instead of his dorm. Going in through the window also probably wasn't the best idea either, but he does get coffee and a full breakfast out of it, and he gets to meet Miles's mom too, so it's counted as another win. 

 

 

XVII.

The first time Miles gets really, actually badly hurt, Peter stops thinking. Miles is talking over the coms, he's having trouble webbing cars and civilians out of the way fast enough, and the others aren't there yet but he's going to try something. 

_'Wait you idiot!'_ Gwen yells, nearly getting a face-full of flag as she swings too close to an open balcony. _'We're almost there, just another minute.'_ Peter says, but he knows the tone in Miles's voice- he's used to hearing it coming from himself when he's about to do something MJ's gonna hit him for later. 

There's a crackle, and static, and Miles stops responding. They arrive on the scene to find Rhino lose in the street with no sign of their fellow spider. Peter takes a few hits he could probably have dodged better if he hadn't been looking for the kid. He thinks Gwen might've gotten hit too- she's as distracted as he is. Together however they manage to hit Rhino with enough webbing to immobilize him completely, and Gwen darts down into a collapsed building and Peter's barely a second behind her. Miles is there- unconscious, arm clearly broken but webbed securely to his chest, and he's _breathing_ he's _alive_ and suddenly Peter feels the need to go apologize to MJ for all the times he was an idiot because _he does not like this feeling_. 

It's not the first time Peter's had to swing quickly with an unconscious person though, so he applies thin layers of webbing to himself and Miles and creates a harness, and then makes for Aunt May's with Gwen guarding their rear. 

They don't notice the news-crew running back to the rubble they'd just vacated, nor the police tearing onto the scene and skipping over the pile of web with a villain buried somewhere underneath with the same destination. Their only focus is getting _away_.

. 

May's not happy, of course. No-one's happy. They're happy Miles is _alive_ obviously, but... It was sometimes easy to forget how small the kid still was when he was in the air rag-dolling around with the rest of them. Seeing him lying still on the bed though, his re-set arm resting in a drying cast (and boy had _that_ been something Peter never wants to do again, please let none of the kids ever break another bone _ever_ thanks), Miles looks even smaller than usual. 

He'd woken briefly (thankfully after they did the arm thing), and the first thing out of his mouth was "I have a project due tomorrow." Gwen had informed him in no uncertain terms that Ganke could handle passing it in, and if Miles thought he was getting up any time soon he'd be getting a web to the face. He scowled, but fell asleep again about a minute later.

Gwen was beginning to doze off in the armchair she'd dragged up next to the bed now, her feet out and pressed against Miles's shin as though to reassure herself he were still there and still okay. Noir was stalking through the neighborhood, ready to take offense to anyone who even looked at May's house crooked. Ham had been dragged into the kitchen to help with making food (May growled something about paying her back for the fine china), and Peter was left standing awkwardly at the foot of the bed, torn between staring at the two sleeping kids and looking around a room that's straight out of a decades-old memory. 

He's debating joining May and Ham in the kitchen, or maybe making sure Noir didn't go after any normal-nosy neighbors when he notices the small glowing rectangle in Miles's bag, which had been left forgotten in a corner. It goes dark, but a minute later it lights up again, and Peter crouches down and peeks inside to see Miles's phone buzzing silently. On the screen... 

Calling: Dad.

 

...Oh.

 

_Oh._

 

_**OH NO.** _

 

...

 

Peter really hopes he remembered to open that window before he jumped out.

 

 

XVIII.

Life goes on though. Miles is back up and moving about after a few days, and they manage to keep him off patrolling for a whole week before he's back up in the air with them. 

Miles shows up in his dimension during a date dinner with MJ, panicking because he told his dad about being Spider-man and immediately ran away and _what was he supposed to do now_. So Peter tells him to breathe, and MJ tells him to sit down and order some food, and when dinner's over Peter hauls him back home and makes him stand at the front door. 

Going by Jefferson's reaction on opening the door and finding them both there, Peter was right and he's known since the walking-home-incident. But Miles is home safe, and Peter has a date to finish, so he turns on his heel and takes off. They'll be fine. Everyone is fine, and life is pretty good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't put section XVII in- this whole chapter was originally more lighthearted overall (XVI and XVIII were a single section of bits on Peter crossing paths with Jeff until the reveal). 
> 
> Then I realized that in my little writing haze the other day I didn't address the time Peter showed up on the doorstep to tell Jeff and Rio that Miles was okay after that fight. As soon as I realized I missed that scene, I knew I had to write that whole section. So if you notice the shift in tone and style between that one and the sections around it- that's why. I debated putting it at the very end, but I wanted them to stay kinda chronological within the chapter.


	4. Spider Scraps 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff tries to convince everyone he can't actually adopt all the spider-people, and then he turns around and fusses over a spider-kid, to the delight of the internet. He also starts learning the advantages of having spider-tech on hand, and he can finally fulfill the dreams of many a cop, in teaching vigilantes how to stay just this side of the law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've passed 20 snippet parts! I'm still meaning to read so many of the various Spider-comics to get to know the characters better, but also I'm getting distracted by things like watching playthroughs of the PS4 Spider-man game (and hoo boy am I getting ideas), and same for finally managing to sit down and watch Spider-man: Homecoming (I actually have a story sketched out for that one, but it still needs to be written so that'll be a future-me-thing to worry about lol)
> 
> As always, thanks for stopping by to read, and I hope you enjoy the coming snippets!

XIX.

"So, do Miles and Rio know?" Ellie asks one afternoon while they're out patrolling in the cruiser. Her eyes are on the road as she drives, but when Jeff glances over her head is tilted slightly towards the passenger side where he sits. 

"Do they know what?" He's confused, but her grin just widens. 

"About your ongoing mission to adopt every spider-person in the city?" She pauses at a stop sign to turn and grin fully at him. "How does Miles feel about having so many new brothers and sisters?"

Jefferson stares at her uncomprehendingly, and after a somewhat awkward pause (for him at least), she breaks out in laughter and continues driving. 

He figures that's the end of it. 

It's not. 

 

 

XX.

"You know there's a petition online demanding that you be allowed to adopt them, right?" 

"There's no way that'll go through- they have secret identities for a reason." 

"And yet they keep showing up in your office asking about dinner, or on patrol and they ask how your day's going, or if you've seen any of the others already-" 

"It's not gonna happen!"

But it did. Over 1.5 million signatures in the first week the petition had been up- essentially 1 in 7 New Yorkers putting their signature down. (Miles pointed out it wasn't just New Yorkers, there were people using #SpiderCopForSpiderDad all across the country, even some international. Jeff didn't know how he knew that, but apparently it wasn't just New York that had decided he now had seven children instead of one).

He was summoned to the mayor's office to discuss the adoption process. Apparently _'they don't even exist in this universe they're just visiting'_ and _'they have their own families in their own dimensions already'_ aren't valid responses. Nor was _'one of them is my age, and I'm pretty sure Ham is somehow older than me- I cannot adopt someone that's older than me'_ apparently. He left the _'I can't adopt my own son, he's already mine'_ argument unspoken, but it was tempting- not that it would have stopped the force of nature that was New York (and all interested parties online apparently) deciding Spider-Cop needed to legally adopt the entire spider-family. 

Then someone asks Spider-man (aka Miles, aka Jefferson's _actual child_ ) about his opinion on Officer Davis adopting all of the Spider-people, and he laughs so hard he falls off the wall. 

"That's gonna be a little difficult considering the whole secret identity thing." Is his response, once his laughter subsides and he can breathe again. He's referring to his own secret identity Jeff knows, but it's not a straight answer and the public runs wild with it. They start asking the other spiders too- Peter laughs and then leaves with no comment, Gwen stutters and waves her hands and also flees, and they never manage to catch Noir or Ham (those two were slick, Noir vanishing before anyone could get more than a glimpse of billowing coat, and Ham poofing in a Ham-shaped cloud of smoke with a snap of his fingers before anyone could process what just happened), but they did catch Peni, and she cried. 

Reporters start showing up at the precinct daily after that, demanding to know why Robo-Spider was so emotional about the question. Jeff continues to try and ignore them until a week passes, and then Peni shows up on the steps and informs them that they should leave her dad alone and she cried because she hadn't expected the question. Jeff's very glad there were no cameras in the office when she made that announcement so there was no evidence as to whether or not he shed a few tears.

(There was in fact a security feed, but the captain confiscated it and the copy one of the guards had made before it got out. He didn't mention it to anyone, and after a hearty threat the guard kept his mouth shut too.)

 

 

XXI.

Spider-Woman fumbles her webshooter while assisting the police with a takedown, and the moment the perp is in handcuffs Jefferson glares at the white-and-black-clad vigilante where she's perched on a lamppost and gives her his best cop-dad-glare and points at the ground in front of him. She hesitates but does jump down to land in front of him, and Jeff crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. She crosses her arms and glares right back (he's gotta ask Miles sometime how the masks are so expressive, like the eyes change size with the wearer- how do they do that?!). 

"When's the last time you ate and slept?" Jeff demands, and Gwen rocks back on her heels in apparent surprise. 

"Doesn't matter- it was just a slip." She defends, but Jeff isn't letting up. He turns and gestures for her to follow, calling out to Ellie as he passes. 

"I'm taking my lunch-break now- you two can finish booking this guy right?"

"Only if you agree to finish all the reports on the Evans case!" Maria immediately yells from the other side of the car. Jeff glares, but figures that's fair, so he shoots her a thumbs up. 

"You don't need to-" Gwen starts, but Jeff gives her another glare and she quiets down, trotting after him as he strolls down the sidewalk. 

"You're a growing kid, you've gotta remember to eat enough to keep up with that metabolism of yours." He says, trying to ignore the way the crowd parts before them and people whisper about Spider-Dad, and the click of digital camera shutters. "You're in our dimension, you're our guest, and you're family. Of course I'm gonna feed you when you're hungry, and scold you for not taking care of yourself." 

Gwen's mask shifts as she smiles and lengthens her stride to walk beside him, and Jeff sets about looking for a restaurant with good prices. Preferably a buffet if he could find one. 

Miles and Rio tease him later that night over the newest viral video of "Spider-Dad fussing over his Spider-Kid", and Jeff has the good grace to laugh along with them. It does seem pretty funny considering his old stance of vigilantes.

 

 

XXII.

Jeff wears the spider-gear at first only because Miles insists on calling him every morning before classes to make sure, and he shows up at the precinct with them if Jeff leaves them behind (Jeff scolds him, _'you're supposed to be in school!'_ and Miles doesn't say anything or move a muscle until he takes the gear. His co-workers seem to have a gambling problem because he sees money changing hands based on how often it happens). So he gets into the habit of donning the shirt and leggings under his uniform, and the web-bracelets around his wrists becomes a familiar weight that he doesn't even think about. 

And he continues ignoring them until there's a car-chase down the highway, and he realizes that the getaway driver has every intention of ramming the blockade of cars they'd set up in some kind of horrific blaze of glory. He has enough time to think two thoughts- first, _'Miles would be able to stop that car with his webs'_ , followed by _'I have webs'_. 

Before he can have the third thought of _'I'm a cop, and cops don't use spider-webs'_ , he's standing up from behind the patrol car's hood, aiming with his wrist like Peter showed him, and tapping out _thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip_. 

The car is wrenched aside as the momentum of the car meets the ingenuity of over-protective vigilantes, and it flips and rolls twice before coming to a stop a few yards in front of the barricade. Immediately the firefighters are rushing in with the jaws of life, and Jefferson's stepping back because _what did he just do?_

And then the captain's behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder and saying _you did good Davis_ and now he's looking around again and he sees patrol cars still intact, he sees crooks battered but alive being hauled out of the wreckage, and he's looking back down at the webshooter, and yeah, maybe he can get used to that. 

 

 

XXIII.

He starts webbing perps more often- though he still refuses to use the tranqs unless someone is in immediate life-threatening danger (Ganke seems offended until Jeff and Rio sit down to give the boy a talk about potential allergic reactions and culpability as an officer of the law, and then he's off refining his formula to make it even safer). 

The spiders also team up to teach him tricks to aim better at a distance (apparently they were applauding his move, but also freaking out because he'd missed two of the shots and if he'd missed one more it wouldn't have stopped the car). 

 

 

XXIV.

They're forced to let a perp go because in his rush to get the girlfriend to safety and the gun-happy-boyfriend subdued Spider-man made a few too many mistakes with the scene, and when Jeff grumbles about it over dinner Miles looks like he's going to be sick. He takes off into the city and Rio hits Jeff in the shoulder and _glares_ and he hadn't meant it like that _honestly_ but also... Jeff realizes he's been missing an opportunity that he and every other cop had been grumbling about for years. 

So he texts Miles to call him (he used to call directly, but no-one would pick up and then Miles explained it's really hard to answer a phone midair so now he just texts with a request to call) and he waits. When the phone rings, he apologizes and then explains every procedure that was lost in that case that let the culprit go free, and he asks if Spider-man can come into the precinct tomorrow. Miles agrees and comes home and the five of them (Gwen and Peni had showed up sometime while Jeff was on the phone) sprawl out on the sofa in a tangled heap of limbs, and that's how they fall asleep. (After the kids have woken up and left, Jeff cracks a joke about needing a full-sized sectional to fit the whole family, but Rio gets a considering look on her face and Jeff realizes they may end up redecorating soon.)

The next morning, Jeff's amused to see no-one taking a second look at the little spider-man coming in through the window of the station early in the morning. Miles perches on a chair next to Jeff's desk, and he shows him the report from the case. Ellie does glance over at them one time as he starts talking, but she only quirks an eyebrow and then turns back to her own work. 

Five minutes in, Miles asks for a notebook so he can take notes to share the info with the rest of the spiders. Jeff agrees, and offers to get a few copies of the procedural handbooks for them to go over as well. 

(The captain comes out of the office as Miles is leaving with 6 copies of said handbook in a shopping bag and hands them to the vigilante without a word before returning to his office. The door is already closed by the time Miles yells _'thank you'_ after him. Jeff thinks he sees Jeb choking on his coffee, but he stubbornly refuses to look over and see for sure.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone made a comment that I replied to with a wall of text _*coughcough*crashboxhasmyheart*cough*_ and this was gonna be part of my response there but I also wanted to say it to everyone who reads too since like... just writing the comment was giving me so many emotions??? Anyway-
> 
> I've probably mentioned this several times already, but half the reason I enjoy writing so much is hearing from and interacting with you readers! ((Also, I keep getting even more ideas for snippets from these comment conversations (looking at you Nonny Mouse!), which is always a delight as well :D)) I can't believe I only posted Nightmares a month ago- I remember being so terrified over feedback! And now I'm just... so happy? Like just thinking about all the kudos and comments and bookmarks (I love seeing the notes on the bookmarks too omg) makes me smile no matter the day I'm having and it's just... so overwhelming.
> 
> So thank you everyone that reads these! Thank you for your kudos, and your bookmarks, and your comments! Y'all the VIPs (Very Inspiring Peoples!)


	5. Spider Scraps 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff finally accepts the reality of being a new father of too many stray super-powered children, the spiders accept that their dad doesn't actually mind being their dad, and the gossip mill of Visions Academy realizes that it has an overlooked member of the spider-fam sitting two seats over in physics class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got more notes at the end, but first I wanna give a high five to everyone that's either currently taking your finals, or have just finished them- felt I absolutely had to post this today for y'all who're stressing over school and stuff (and even for my fellow adults who are just in a constant low-level stress from pretending to adult all the time lol). 
> 
> Secondly, y'all can give a shout-out to HopelesslyLost for today's content, because I sat down in a gas station at 2am and wrote for about 5 hours, and then I was torn between posting this chapter (which I had planned), or those three (which didn't even exist 7 hours ago lol), and Lost helpfully sent me the "both? both? both. both is good" GIF from Road to El Dorado, _so you guys get both of them today._

XXV.

Eventually Jefferson gets tired enough of the media following him that he discusses what to do about them with Rio, who is (as usual) the most reasonable and logical in their mad semi-radioactive family. 

"I do not need to legally adopt them for them to be my family." He says to the press outside the precinct, finally. "They have their own lives, and their own families in their own dimensions, and that doesn't change the fact that while they're here, I'm going to love them and worry about them, just as I love and worry over my own kid." He feels like he should say more, but he's never been the best with words, so he leaves it at that. (He kind of forgot that the whole inter-dimensional spiders thing wasn't commonly known however so _whoops_ but it does set off a lot of science talk that distracts a lot of people from pestering him about his personal life so that's fun.)

Thankfully his words seem to get his point across, and finally he's left in relative peace (they still come after him sometimes for spider-related articles they're trying to write, but it's not the constant hounding it was before). 

 

 

XXVI. 

Peni was the first to call him dad, back when she was telling the news-vultures off previously. She later apologizes and says she meant to use the nickname Spider-dad, but Jeff just picks her up and hugs her close, and she doesn't try to apologize again. 

The second time one of the spiders calls him dad is surprisingly Gwen, as he's lecturing her over over a particularly dangerous move she'd pulled involving several moving cars and her ballet grace _but cars are still large and even spider-strength won't stop it from hurting if you get run over_.

"Okay _dad_." She snips at him when he pauses to breathe, as she's leaning against a lamppost with her arms crossed and face to the sky. They both freeze for a second as Gwen realizes what she said, and then Jefferson's also crossing his arms, nodding. 

"If your dad were over here, I'm betting he'd be giving you this exact same lecture. Since he's back home, I'm doing it; deal." And he goes right back to it, but he can see Gwen's mask is twisted in a faint smile, and he knows he's got one too. 

 

 

XXII.

Third is, less surprisingly, Miles. There's a kidnapping close to where Visions is located, so Jeff isn't all that surprised when Spider-man swings down and joins their briefing, asking how he can help track the suspect. 

The other cops are getting more used to him actively helping (they even quiz the spiders on police procedure now, which is both endearing and hilarious) so they bring him into the loop; what car the man was driving, his description, the child's description, and which way they were headed when last spotted. Spider-man takes off and eventually spots them, narrating the target's every move as the police move ahead to set up a trap. It's a long effort, but worth it when the tyke is reunited with his parents and the would-be kidnapper is led away in cuffs. 

The others are patting Spider-man on the shoulder and pretending to ruffle his hair, and he's cracking jokes right up until Ellie glances at her watch and goes "Hey Spider-kid, aren't you supposed to be in school right now?" Her tone says it's half-joking, but Miles freezes and looks around frantically before glancing down at his own watch. 

"Ai, I missed lunch!" He yelps, smacking himself in the head. "Class starts in 5 minutes- gotta swing!"

"Hold up a minute!" Jeff calls out, and he runs and grabs the leftover sub from his own lunch and tosses it over. "Don't eat so fast you choke!"

"I won't! Thank you papi!" Miles calls out, food in one hand and webbing in the other as he leaps into the air. 

"And don't eat while swinging!" Jeff yells after him, because he knows Miles is gonna try and he remembers Peter telling joking stories of trying to drink coffee or eat bagels while swinging and how many times that ended badly. Miles waves the sandwich as a mock goodbye and vanishes around a corner, and Jeff can only cross his arms and huff. 

He doesn't even register Miles's slip until he's back at the office and he hears a talk-show on the radio arguing the new Spider-man's nationality because he called Spider-Dad "Papi" instead of "Dad" like the others had. 

(Fourth is Peter B, joking around and elbowing him in the side while asking if he gets an allowance. Jeff threatens to call his wife, to which Peter’s response is “Please don’t I’m behaving!”. They’d been on the sidewalk, running into each other after a purse snatching, and as always seems the case, someone had a camera out, and the exchange becomes a ‘meme’ which Miles delights in collecting on his phone and then showing the variations to Jeff and Peter.)

 

 

XXIII.

At some point, someone remembers that Jeff has an actual, honest-to-gods child of his own. A lone reporter goes to Visions to get a story, but Visions Academy is not any old school, and they call their security in the moment the man tries to press his luck. 

He tries again on the weekend when the students are being let out, and Miles takes one look at the microphone and the large camera and turns straight back into the dorms. He's back in his room pacing before anyone can catch him flickering in and out of sight, and he's ranting at Ganke _'why are they here are they looking for me have I been exposed already?'_ and Ganke's downing a BlueBull and shrugging _'I dunno man- your dad is kinda Spider-dad though so maybe they just wanna know your opinion on that?'_ and Miles keeps pacing across the floor and up the walls. (He ends up going invisible and crawling out the window, and it takes four hours for the reporter to realize he's lost his target, and Ganke stays late solely to take pictures of his expression at that moment.)

He's there again on Monday though, and the headmaster is threatening to call the cops this time. Miles calls Jeff first however, and he shows up at the school with a scowl, a packed patrol car, and a suited-up Peter stuck to the roof of said patrol car like a strange, colorful gargoyle.

Getting glared at by a cop is bad. Getting glared at by a cop who is the dad of the kid you're following is _really_ bad. But getting glared at by a cop who is the dad of the kid you're following _and is also Spider-dad, **plus one of the vigilantes themselves**_ is just too much. 

The man vanishes, no article is run, and Miles gets to relax into relative anonymity again. 

 

 

XXIV.

Except, he doesn't, really. Because he hadn't been alone out on Vision's steps when the reporter tried to talk to him, plus Jeff and Peter weren't exactly subtle when they showed up, and so the gossip spread like wildfire in the following week. Suddenly all of his classmates know that 'the weird scholarship transfer kid' is part of the famous Spider-family. 

He has no idea how to react to their sudden change in regard for him. Months, he's had that scene with 'Gwanda' in the hallway looming over his reputation (not to mention when he accidentally tore up the security guard's office because his sticky fingers were out of control that one time, _or_ the time his dad dropped him off in the patrol car) but now people are eyeing him with curiosity and- maybe respect? He'd gotten used to where he stood at Visions, and now it's all been flipped around and he has no idea what to do with it. 

"Are the Spider-people allowed to pick you up from school since they're like, your family?" 

"Do you eat dinner with them? What do they eat?" 

"Have you seen their faces?"

"What are they like?"

Miles tries to give his best answers without giving anything away, but it's difficult. It's just like his first few weeks at Visions all over again, he's off-balance and trying to reestablish his place in the social network. 

He tries asking Gwen about it and she gives him a flat stare and oh yeah, still working on the 'friends' thing back in her universe, right. Peni is both 12 and from way into the future and Noir is 19 but also from the 30s so he can't very well ask them. He thinks about asking Peter but considering his spider-manning advice... (it was good advice, but he's really not sure what the high-school equivalent of 'baby powder in the suit' would be)

He also debates asking his dad but... that's still weird? He's cool talking to him about spider stuff these days, and going over homework and asking about laws and whatnot, but the social jungle of high school? That'd be... That would have been something he'd ask Aaron. 

And he doesn't like that thought- still doesn't like thinking about his uncle, because he invariably starts thinking about how he died, but he does try to wonder. What _would_ uncle Aaron say? 'Play it cool' maybe? 

So he tries to play it cool. "Naw man, I pick myself up from school!" "You haven't seen an appetite until you see two spider-people get into a hotdog eating contest." "You know how they flip and twist around like that in the air? Yeah they're like that all the time- mom thought someone's arm was broken once but he was just carrying too many bags and did this weird thing with his elbow." "If I'd seen their faces, it would defeat the purpose of the masks, wouldn't it?"

He came up with answers- casual, semi-flippant answers, and slowly everyone calms down again. The only one he could never really answer was "What are they like?" Because really, how could he? How could he casually describe the time Noir hid his face in his hat because Miles had brought him into a home-goods store to collect paint chips? Or when Peter came in through the window at two in the morning and almost got a baseball bat to the face because his date with MJ had gone really well and he was on the verge of crying because he was so happy? When Ham tried to help Jefferson by giving him his own 'headache hammer', and the man stared at it deadpan before slowly walking out of the room while Ham quipped some probably-copyrighted lines after him. Peni, falling off the kitchen counter as she read one of Miles's textbooks because she'd laughed so hard. Gwen, fidgeting with the longer strands of her hair as she talked about some kids she'd been talking to at lunch that day at her school. 

So when his classmates ask him "What are they like?" Miles can only shrug and say "They're like family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tentatively marking this done now. I'm a little sad about it, but also something about that last snippet just... felt like an end. 
> 
> I've still got some more plot-ish things to do (the three-chapter thing for MJ I'll be posting in a little bit, plus something for MCU spidey because he's a tiny precious bean who honestly uses the phrase 'yoink' and i love him even if I know next to nothing about MCU, _plus_ a few other rougher ideas), but none of them have the same feel as the 'scraps', so... I think it's time to close this part of their story. The series isn't over though, so I hope you guys will keep reading with me and leaving all your wonderful comments <3


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